Like Water
by ThePepperSheep
Summary: Destiny is formless and shapeless, Neji. Like water.


_Okay... I'm completely new at this, but I'm pretty sure I need a disclaimer. I don't know why, seeing as the crappy writing and cheap plot are a big hint that I'm not Kishimoto or Bruce Lee, lol. Anywho, on with the story!_

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_Empty your mind; be formless and shapeless – like water._

_Swish thump swish thump_

Bare feet slapped gently over wood as a young boy attempted to strike his father. Right, left, strike –his father dodged effortlessly, always one step ahead. Hizashi smiled faintly as he saw his son's growing frustration on his face – _"so young, and already wanting to be the best." _The child charged forward and a second later disappeared and a small palm was pressed against his lower back.

"Got you, father!" He could feel his son's triumph warm against him. Relaxing his muscles, which had stiffened at the surprise attack, he reached around to put a hand on his son's small head.

"Neji, I couldn't be more proud – you inherited more than just our clan's doujutsu…if only-" A loud clatter, and Hiashi was in the doorway, their clan's Kekkei Genkai activated, and looking straight at his brother.

"You know you shouldn't be teaching the child that form," he hissed. He walked over, gazing at Neji. "I will keep this from the elders, this time. But remember, it is not in your son's place to learn such things, no matter how gifted he is."

Hizashi hadn't moved, but kept his eyes on his twin. "I understand," – his eyes averted, head inclined towards the floor - "Forgive me for disrespecting our clan in such a way."

Hiashi jerked his head and left. Neji's father released his breath, and turned his eyes sadly on his son.

"How is teaching me disrespecting our clan?" Hizashi crouched down until he was at eye-level with his son.

"You need to understand, son, that you are a bird with clipped wings. You are to become what the clan wants you to be, nothing more."

It wasn't until his forehead tingled with the Manji seal and his father was a corpse traveling to Kumogakure that Neji realized he wasn't just clipped, but caged.

_

* * *

_

_Now you put water into a cup – it becomes a cup, you water into a bottle, it becomes a bottle, you put it into a teapot, it becomes a teapot._

The Hokage could not have put him on a more _wrong_ team. Impassively, he looked at the newly formed Team 4. Tenten, he thought, as he watched her methodically sharpen her kunai, wasn't so bad. She knew her role as the kunoichi on the team, and never went against it. Lee, however – his eyes darted to his lanky teammate, and a small scowl passed his otherwise void face – _disgusted_ him. Was it his strange behavior? His kiss-ass attitude towards their sensei? _His sensei… _he was about as bad as Lee. What made him worse was that he believed this slipshod team could work. He looked over the balcony and into the sky, and wondered why destiny was so cruel to put him in _Team_ _4._

~O~

The blazing sun did nothing to calm his anger as he shoved his fist against the giant tree stump, watching the fissure travel about four feet until it stopped with a challenging crack. Clutching his raw knuckles, he saw that Tenten was doing much worse than he was – her fist's energy would split the log only a couple of feet before it would give up wanly. They had been at this for months, and Gai-sensei had stopped all other group training sessions for this, stating _"he could feel this was the right path to go". _Neji sat down, inhaling deeply, and focused his chakra onto the _kaimon_. He felt a weak stream of raw energy entering his chakra veins. Hoping this was enough, he stood and struck his fist against the defiant wood – the split traveled three and some odd feet deep - _half a foot less than last time._

A sudden cheer disrupted his failure, and he turned to see Lee drunk with happiness and babbling like a moron. Behind him, a large log – its grainy rings exposed- was split cleanly down the middle. Gai-sensei beamed and began one of his usual flamboyantly delivered lectures, but Neji didn't hear much of what his was saying. All he could hear was anger coursing through his system – he glared at Lee, never hating him so much as he did right now.

He didn't stop to think why he was so angry until he was sitting alone in his room and realized it hadn't come from his teammate's success in doing the jutsu, but in doing something in which he _couldn't _do. Tasting the acrid bile in his mouth, Neji fought to keep his hands from shaking as he untied his hair and went to bed.

~O~

Long after Hiashi-sama left and the medic-nin injected mild sedatives to relax his body, Neji lay on his back, gazing at the blinding sky. Mildly delirious from the drugs, he wondered exactly _where _he was. He was lost – all the bearings that kept his mind, his thoughts, his _everything_ rooted to reality were gone, and he was now flying over a white sea of memories without anything to navigate him to _himself_. This should have been unpleasant, but somehow it was welcome; he was being renewed, _reborn_ and knew that this white void was just the beginning of something more. Hiashi-sama – the fight - Hinata-sama – everything rolled past each other, searching for some kind of current to follow. He smiled wanly. This was that blonde drop-out's-_Uzumaki Naruto's_- he corrected himself, fault. He was a stubborn, foolish, reckless dreamer who believed in the impossible.

He wanted to be just like him.

* * *

_Now water can flow, or it can crash._

_Swish thump swish thump_

Neji's movements were fluid and fierce as he aimed his palm towards the pressure point Hinata forgot to protect. Realizing her mistake, her body cowered slightly, but she otherwise stood straight. A mere millimeter away, Neji stopped his attack, and gently shifted her hands into the right position before bowing and stating her skills had improved since their last sparring. Hiashi stepped forward and dismissed his daughter, telling her to bring some tea. The clan lord stood awkwardly next to Neji, until he moved into a stance, gazing straight ahead of him.

"This is an ancient form, which is said to increase one's chakra flow if done every day. It starts in a back stance. Watch me first, and then attempt it yourself."

Neji nodded and knelt on the floor, watching his uncle twist, turn and strike with incredible accuracy. When his turn came, he imitated the movements decently, but turned a little too slow and clumsy for his liking. Frustrated, he looked at floor, trying to remember where his fists were not as accurate as they should have been, or when his kicks were weak when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Neither Hiashi's hands nor his voice were his _Chichi-ue's_, but Neji felt warm triumph build inside him at what his uncle said.

"Well done, Neji-san. Your father would have been proud."

_Be water, my friend._

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_Whoa, this is my first fanfic. __**Ever. **__I hope my idea got across… but I'm not so sure if it did. This story was originally created for Lee, mainly because of his character connection with Bruce Lee. But after re-reading the quote, it seemed to tranquil for the "Hot-blooded Beast of Konoha" lol. The ending's pretty cheesy, but endings are always the most difficult part. _

_Sorry, I think I didn't make it clear enough, so let me explain the middle; it was meant to show how he turned from an unchangeable prick to a more understanding and flexible guy. I know I didn't put his battle with Hinata in, mainly because I didn't want to just reiterate Kishimoto's whole story._

_Please review and tell me what you think! I like all criticism, so even if you nag, it will be welcomed with a hug and cookies._

_And if you're just as lazy as I am to look up the Chinese and Japanese words authors put in their stories:_

_Kaimon: This is the first gate they open to remove the brain's chakra inhibitors_

_Manji: That's the Japanese term for the swastika symbol on Neji's forehead. Since this is a Japanese story, I decided not to use the word "swastika" because it's an Indian word._


End file.
